


Backtrack

by SapphireSoulmate



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Platonic to Romantic, Student AU, Teacher AU, Wedding, age gap, allura is badass dea with it, also klance and shank if you look hard enough, idk how to explain, kinda a song fic but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-16 01:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8081008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireSoulmate/pseuds/SapphireSoulmate
Summary: Pidge and Shiro never imagined such a future but here they were.OrThe one where Shiro patiently waits for Pidge to comeback and she does.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Shidge Week 2016 Day 1: FUTURE

_When I look into your eyes_

_  
_ The church doors open. The choir’s voices echoe enough for Pidge to hear but the sound of her heart beating drowns it all out.

 

_It's like watching the night sky_

 

“Today is the day,” She tells herself as she looks at her brother Matt standing beside her.

 

_Or a beautiful sunrise_

 

Pidge remembers how Shiro proposed. How she couldn’t believe it at first. But Shiro had been there promising her love, life, his everything.

 

_Well, there's so much they hold_

 

Two months ago, they decided to get married.

 

* * *

 

Pidge wakes to the scent of slightly burnt lavender. Shiro owns an extensive candle collection, but he rarely lights them up and just keeps them all stocked up in his cabinets. Her mind wonders as to why he is lighting some at 3 in the morning. She gets out of their room, only to see lit-up lavender-scented candles forming a path to the living room.

 

There she sees Shiro from behind, still lighting candles with one hand and holding a book in the other. Pidge squints her eyes in an attempt to read the title. She walks as silent as she can as to not let Shiro notice her. She left her glasses upstairs. What other choice does she have?

 

But when she is finally close enough to read it, Pidge just screams, surprising Shiro so much that he springs up and drops his lighter.

 

“OH MY GOD, SHIRO!! Is that _Harry Potter and the Cursed Child_??!” Pidge can barely hold her breath. A few nights back, she’d been vigorously searching for a copy only to have been met with failure. But Shiro is here, holding one of those precious copies in his hand, and Pidge was never happier until today.

 

“Yes, it is,” is Shiro’s answer. His eyes dart to the book before looking back at Pidge. His preparations are far from over. He still had plans to cook breakfast as well and keep the book out of sight, but she’d woken up already so he might as well do it.

 

“Can I borrow it??” Pidge’s eyes gleams and the flames of the candles around her defines it all the more.

 

“It’s actually yours,” Shiro says as he hands the book to Pidge.

 

Pidge is quick to receive it. She never thought she’d get her hands on _Harry Potter and the Cursed Child_ this early on. She thinks about how Shiro must have pulled some strings to get this for her and she’s very thankful for that, even more thankful for him.

 

“Can I read it now?”

 

“Of course you can.” Shiro’ is beyond tense. He’d been planning on this for months but seeing it all unfold makes him nervous and jittery. He tries desperately to save face in hopes that Pidge wouldn’t see through his anxiousness.

 

But Pidge had been too enamored by the book to have noticed Shiro’s nervousness. She takes a deep breath and opens the book when she notices something was stuck in the middle.

 

“Shiro, I think you left somethi--”

 

Pidge couldn’t believe her eyes. A bookmark is carefully tucked into the book. It is the color of grassy greens, had diamond stickers actually meant for phones as borders. Obviously, Shiro doesn’t know that. He probably saw one of his students use some for a project and thought it looked nice. But those are not what catches Pidge’s attention. It had been the golden snitch ring that housed a beautiful topaz in the middle, carefully tied to the bookmark with the message written in it:

 

**_Will You Marry Me?_ **

 

Pidge’s posture loosens as she looks at Shiro, as she takes the bookmark, the ring, puts the book down. She is teary-eyed and smiling. Illuminated by only the candles, still safe from the morning glows, Pidge mutters under her breathe, the words

 

“Yes, I will.”

 

* * *

 

_And just like them old stars_

  
Shiro stands at the altar, his palms growing sweaty and stiff as he hears the sounds of the processional song.

 

_I see that you've come so far_

 

Keith, his best man, stands next to him, holding a pair of rings in his hand.

 

_To be right where you are_

 

The wedding march feels too long for Shiro, but he’s a patient soul.

 

_How old is your soul?_

 

It has always been one of his strengths.

 

* * *

 

Shiro, at 33, has already been deep-rooted in Altea Academy. For ten years, he has been teaching there. Now, he’s the head of the science department, a well-treated and -respected teacher, strict and stern but loved by many.

 

There isn’t much to his life except seeing his students grow, sending them off to the world, wishing that he’d polished them hard enough that they wouldn’t break against all odds.

 

He is content with his life.

 

When she comes by, five years after their promise, Shiro is surprised. He’d been idling in at the teachers’ lounge when a coworker tells him that a woman is looking for him, a woman named ‘Katie Holt.’

 

And when they finally see each other, Pidge is all smiles, standing outside the faculty room. And Shiro, Shiro is dumbfound. He grips the sliding doors tightly and couldn’t believe, couldn’t even fathom that Pidge is here standing in front of him.

 

He’d seen countless students come and go. Some swear they would come to visit but he’d been in the industry long enough to know that these were but empty ones. Children grow and move on and live on and so does he. It isn’t unusual.

 

But Pidge is here, in front of him, after five long years. And before he knew it, tears begin streaming down his face. Pidge tries to fight off her giggles aimed at him for being so emotional, before handing him a handkerchief.

 

“I’m sorry. I must be getting old. It’s been so long,” Shiro says between sniffles, all the while drying his eyes.

 

“It’s alright. Would you like to go to the backyard?” Pidge suggests.

 

That place has been an important one to both of them. The empty lot behind the school, feared by many and very much avoided because of the numerous grotesque tall tales tied to it, has been one where they’d talk or eat or just spend time in silence. It is also where their promise was made.

 

And where it is to be fulfilled.

 

The way there is very much chatty. Shiro talks about how the place wasn’t much different from before.  He talks about Keith, who was now teaching geometry, about Lance who inherited their family’s flower shop, about Hunk who had gone and become an engineer for some high-end realty business but still visits during holidays, about how Pidge’s favorite bakery is still alive and kicking, that it was even featured on TV once.

 

And Pidge talks about her father, Sam Holt. He never woke up and soon slipped completely from her family’s grasp, four years back. But also that a year later, Matt woke up and slowly recovered. She talks about how Matt is now pursuing Marine Biology, about how her mother’s eyes are once again full of life. She talks about how a well-known software company bought one of her works and employed her as a programmer, about how after getting a bit more experience and finishing her contract, she is going to start her own company.

 

And so, they reach their destination amongst the chatter and the reminiscing.

 

"Remember, we made a promise here. That I'd come back. And that I'd tell you something."

 

"I wouldn't forget it for the world, Pidge."

 

Pidge takes a deep breath before looking into Shiro’s eyes. Shiro returns her gaze, patiently waiting for Pidge to break the silence.

 

"I wanted to be a teacher then. Because I wanted to stay with you. But Principal Allura said it wasn't right for you and me, that it wasn't fair. And looking back, she was right."

 

"I pretty much figured someone talked you out of it," Shiro says, as he ruffles Pidge's hair. Of course, he knew. He had been the one to tell Principal Allura about it, about how Pidge who had been choosing technology-related jobs for her career path assessments and how suddenly, she wrote “teacher” on her senior year.

 

"I'm not a kid anymore, Shiro,” Pidge pouts as she removes Shiro's hand.

 

“Yes. You’ve grown a lot since then,” Shiro replies, holding off a chuckle. It was his turn to laugh at Pidge now.  


"Yes. But I never grew out of my feelings for you."

 

It is unexpected. Shiro has been happy enough to see Pidge, to meet her again after half a decade. He knew well enough that Pidge harbored a crush on him. Her friends’ crazy antics were more than enough for Shiro to realize it. He’d dismissed the thought at first, of course. It just wasn’t right.

 

Later on, when she left, he did realize that he may have loved her, but the days, the moments they spent together weren’t the time and place. He knew that nothing good would come from it. He had long given up, chosen stability and contentment for himself over a horrid chase with passion and a twisted morale.

 

What he failed to realize is that they could choose stability and contentment together.

 

"You mean...?"

 

“I love you, Shiro.”

 

As soon as the words slip out of Pidge’s lips, Shiro locks her into an embrace, gently whispers to her ears the words he once thought he’d destroyed and buried deep,

 

“I love you too.”

 

The two fall to the ground, crying their heart out. Because it all feels so surreal. Back then, something like this seemed too impossible, something far beyond their grasp but here they are now.

 

Here they are, together, at last.

 

* * *

 

 _Well, I won't give up on us_  
  


Finally, Pidge crosses the Church doors, in a white, strapless, A-line dress adorned with golden flowery lace patterns and glistening pearls.

 

_Even if the skies get rough_

 

It is Matt who leads her across the aisle to the man of her dreams, of her reality.

 

_I'm giving you all my love_

 

Here they will exchange vows, but Pidge is not worried.

 __  
I'm still looking up  
  


They’ve had one since seven years ago, and it has been duly fulfilled.

 

* * *

 

Pidge runs around the school’s empty hallways looking for Shiro. Most of the students and even teachers had gone. It was past five, after all. Even she’d been afraid that he’d already left. Thankfully, he’d still been in the chemistry lab, making sure all the apparatuses are complete and properly kept.

 

In Pidge’s hand is a new career path sheet, target colleges included prestigious tech universities and programs focused on computer programming and engineering. It is far too different from the one she passed yesterday, but it is what she really wants to do.

 

She is glad, of course, to be able to be honest to herself but fear takes over. She fears that Shiro would get upset over this. Yesterday, he was beaming when she had told him that he inspired her to be a teacher, which wasn’t entirely a lie by the way. Inspiration comes in many forms. And to her, it came in the form of a measly crush.

 

“Pidge...? What are you still doing here??”

 

It is way too late to back out now though.

 

“I... I came to pass this.” Pidge waves the Career Path sheet in her hands.

 

Shiro takes the paper and begins reading it. Pidge is silently waiting, for Shiro’s brows to furrow or for him to at least look a bit dejected but he didn’t. Instead, Shiro smiles and Pidge knew him long enough to know that it wasn’t a ‘I’m your teacher, so I should be happy for you smile’, it is real; Shiro smiled at her genuinely.

 

And Pidge cries. Because this decision means that she’d be leaving the city, that she wouldn’t be seeing his smile, him for the longest time. But she has made her choice and Shiro is happy for her.

 

Maybe they’d meet again someday.

 

“After the graduation ceremony, let's meet behind the school,” Pidge says before running away from Shiro.

 

After the talk, Pidge starts avoiding him like the plague. The decision she’d made is hard but she wants to keep it and being around Shiro isn’t going to help her.

 

Shiro lets her do as she pleases. This is a tough time for her. It always is, for seniors who dare go far off, into places far from their homes, from what they are used to. Time and space has always been a very important factor for them to be strong, to be able to learn how to rely more on themselves. And Pidge, she needed to stop relying on Shiro.

 

Graduation day comes without the two talking but still both remember how they are supposed to meet at their spot, at the school’s backyard. Both have been anxious that the other wouldn’t come but they do. And there they stand, in front of each other.

 

“I’ll be back and then I’ll tell you something, something I’ll only be able to say then.”

 

The look on Pidge’s eyes is razor sharp and what happened in the last few months had been both weighing heavy on them. Even then, the air between feels musky and rough.

 

So Shiro holds out his pinky finger to Pidge.

 

“Let’s pinky promise.”

 

Pidge is hesitant at first. She even thinks Shiro is joking, but after a few seconds of him not retracting his hands, she concludes that he means business. Their pinky fingers intertwine, and their arms swing in an up and down motion, Shiro reciting the words, "Let's make a pinky promise that we’ll meet again.”

 

Pidge follows after, and they speak together, “If I break my promise, I must swallow a thousand needles. Pinky sworn!"

 

The lock on their hands break but Pidge retrieves Shiro’s pinky with her own, pulls on it causing their knuckles to collide and their thumbs to touch, Pidge goes on and improvises her words, “Sealed with a kiss!”

 

A thumb kiss isn’t such a depressing way to part with each other. In the end, both had been laughing because it all sounded so stupid but the laughter and the glee actually is what they needed for a good farewell.

 

“Goodbye, Pidge.”

 

“I’ll see you again, Shiro.”

 

* * *

 

_And when you're needing your space_

 

As Pidge makes her entrance, all eyes are on her.

  
_To do some navigating_  


She scans the people around her, only to stop at Allura, now in her 50s, but still vibrant, stunning, and terrifying as ever.

 

 _I'll be here patiently waiting_  


She’d been a great mentor to Pidge, one who gave plenty of good advice.

 

 _To see what you find_  
  


Pidge would even dare say that Allura is a woman who can convince anyone with the right words.

 

* * *

 

Pidge, at 17, is still too young, too rough around the edges to really know anything. That is why when faced with something that ruins her status quo, she acts instinctively, trying to keep everything in her small palms.

 

Pidge doesn't know much about people, about relationships but she knows for a fact that even if Shiro didn’t like her back, she’d still want to stay with him, want to be with her friends: Lance, Hunk and Keith. She doesn’t want to leave everything behind, but she also wants something for herself.

 

The career path assessments she had answered the past two years only spoke of well-known technological universities and of the arts and sciences of computers. It has been her dream and she could reach it; or take it within her hands, but she’d have to drop everything else.

 

It is all so confusing for her, one moment to have everything safe and intact, and in another find herself lost, afraid of what’s to come, of which path to take. It had been a blessing in disguise that at this crucial time, Allura is there to guide her.

 

“Pidge, is there something that changed your mind?”

 

“No, I just want to be a teacher. That's all there is to it.” Pidge’s voice is soft but loud enough for Allura to know that this kid is lying to her and to herself.

 

“I know you don't, Pidge. Has this something to do with Mr. Shirogane?”

 

The topic has been a common one. It has been one of those far-fetched rumors that circulated back when she was a sophomore. At the heat of her father and brother’s accident, they were forced to move elsewhere.

 

Shiro had been a family friend, a teacher trainee who worked under her father, someone from once upon a time but when Pidge entered middle school, he finished his internship, assigned elsewhere and moved away.

 

Her mother is still struck with great grief and had often stayed in the hospital. Sometimes she would, too, but usually, she stays at their apartment. And Shiro happens to be just three rooms away. Their places aren’t far off. And sometimes they’d walk back together from school.

 

Shiro is a friend to her, someone she could rely on, someone she has a bad crush on, yes, but it wasn’t really anything. And Pidge hated it when they look at Shiro with judging eyes, when he’d only been nice to her and to her family. Her blood boils, as these thoughts resurfaced in her mind. And it leads her to lash out at Allura who only kept a calm and collected face.

 

“No. NO! Shiro has nothing to do with this!”

 

But her fuming face, her clenched fists and her body language all says otherwise. Shiro has everything to do with it even though the man himself didn’t even lift a finger.

 

It is something Allura knew, of course, that Shiro isn’t so stupid as to start something so irresponsible with his student. But she had to do it. Pidge’s future is at stake. Let’s just say, Allura plays her cards well.

 

“What is he really to you, Pidge?”

 

“He's my homeroom teacher, a friend. That's all there is to it.”

 

“Be honest with me, I won't tell.”

 

“I--! I--! I...”

 

At this point, Allura knows. Pidge has feelings for Shiro but wouldn’t dare speak them. Words, when spoken, had that power, to bind people, to make their shaky ideas stand firm. And Pidge fears that power.

 

“You have feelings for him, don’t you?”

 

Pidge avoids eye contact, only further confirming Allura's suspicions.

 

“Have you talked to him about this?”

 

“He doesn't need to know.”

 

“Are you not doing this for him?”

 

“I am! But he doesn’t need to know!”

 

Pidge is being stubborn. Allura could understand that. Teens are petty and stubborn and proud. They want to appear strong, stout and abled but inside lays turbulent emotions clashing with each other, inside lays insecurities, lays weakness, a weakness they try so hard to deny.

 

“He's your teacher, Pidge. And a teacher's greatest joy is to see their students succeed. Even if you stay with him, do you think he’ll be happy knowing you cast aside all your aspirations for him?”

 

Pidge doesn’t want to admit it, but Allura hit the mark. She is silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. Indeed, she might've fooled Shiro into believing she wanted to be a teacher, but not Allura.

 

Allura takes her cue and moves closer to Pidge, giving her a pat in the shoulders and the best advice she had on her arsenal,

 

“You should go do what you really want to do. Follow your dreams and make a name for yourself. If you still have feelings for him by that time, I can guarantee that it will work out between the two of you.”

 

“You can't guarantee anything.”

 

But Allura does not bother to reply. She doesn’t have to.

She just has to smile.

 

* * *

  


_'Cause even the stars they burn_

 

Unlike Pidge, who looked at everyone, Shiro only looks at her.

_  
Some even fall to the earth_

 

Pidge was never a fan of dresses.

_  
We've got a lot to learn_

 

She always has preferred shorts and baggy shirts.

 __  
God knows we're worth it  
  


That’s why Shiro finds her more stunning today than ever,

 

 _No, I won't give up_  
  


Or maybe because today is their wedding. He doesn’t really know the answer to that.

 

* * *

 

It is when Pidge had become a junior that the lawsuit against the trucking company that caused her father and brother’s accident ended. And the end of that meant the end of the reporters trying to bombard her and her mother with questions. Finally, she could go to school as ‘Katie Holt’.

 

The summer after her sophomore year, she tells Lance, Hunk and Keith that she is, in fact, a girl. Hunk and Keith just roll with it and admit that they had their suspicions. Lance, on the other hand, is surprised, even asking, “HOW ARE YOU A GIRL???!!!”

 

But he also happens to be the one who suggests to Mrs. Holt that Pidge should make it known she is a girl at the prom. And her mother adores the idea, she is smiling, ecstatic, happier than she has been this past year, so even if Pidge isn’t really into dramatic reveals, she gives her okay to it.

 

She, of course, doesn’t bring a date for prom night. Her lot had decided to go together as friends, although she wouldn’t have minded if Lance have asked Keith out. She is pretty sure Hunk wouldn’t mind either. But Lance doesn’t have the balls to even ask. But it is so painstakingly obvious that they like each other.

 

Shiro is forced into chaperone duty. He has gone around the neighborhood in Mrs. Holt’s minivan, taking all the three boys to Pidge’s place. Pidge requested earlier that Shiro should just wait for her and then they’d go the boys but Mrs. Holt had denied it. It just wouldn’t be right if they didn’t see Pidge walking out of the apartment, all prepped up for prom night.

 

And so that is what happens, Pidge coming out of their place in a knee-length, empire waist dress, the bodice filled with glimmering crystals, the skirt, a humble shade of mint. She is wearing silver pumps, 3 inches or more. Keith screams internally because who in their right mind would wear those? And Lance screams too, but externally.

 

“OH MY GOD, PIDGE! You’re like a real bonafide girl!” He shouts at the top of his lungs, a grin shooting from his face.

 

“I’d always been a real bonafide girl, but thanks for noticing,” Pidge retorts, giving Lance a not-so-light nudge on his gut.

 

Hunk and Keith try not to laugh but they do. And of course, they compliment her too, just not as sarcastic as Lance. Keith just looks at Pidge and gives a small thumbs up. It isn’t much but Keith is a man of few words and Pidge understands that.

 

“You look great, Pidge.” Hunk says, giving Pidge a big, warm hug. Lance jumps in, forcing Keith into it as well.

 

After a sweet few moments, they get into the car. Pidge rides shotgun, next to Shiro, who is driving, so as to not ruin her dress. The three boys are cramped up at the back, but are all happy and chatty all the same. Actually, Lance is the only chatty one but he follows up conversations well and makes up for it when Keith couldn’t understand the memes and the internet jokes anymore. They had to tone it down though because Shiro is with them. Can’t have a teacher know what they talk about. And they, as well, do not bother with Pidge much, as her eyes are only ever looking at Shiro or at the window.

 

Pidge steals a few glances at Shiro. Okay, maybe more than a few. She’d been wanting to hear a compliment from him, even just a simple “You look cute.” It doesn’t have to carry any deep meaning to it. Well, maybe for Shiro it doesn’t have any deep meaning, but for her, it would be something big, something that would make her heart leap.

 

But he never does.

 

They arrive at the school soon after and Shiro leaves, wishing them a good time. He is on watch duty today so there isn’t any helping it.

 

Pidge dances together with Hunk and Lance. Keith remains seated saying he is having none of it. Despite the constant stares she received at the beginning, the party is a blast. They’d been eating and chatting and laughing until well, the slow songs comes, the songs meant for lovebirds and Pidge is somehow left alone to sit at their table.

 

Lance miraculously grows some balls and drags Keith into the dance floor. Keith is stiff and doesn’t really know what he’s doing, but Lance is a master at dancing, he leads Keith well enough that most people don’t notice how shitty he is with slow dancing. And Hunk. Oh god, Hunk. He has been kidnapped by the really pretty and tall quarterback senior Shay. And Pidge wouldn’t dare intervene with that.

 

And so she is left alone, drinking punch and watching as her friend who solemnly swore three weeks ago that Prom Night was a friends-only night. But here they were.

 

Pidge is actually okay with it. She’s glad that her friends, at the very least, had something close to a sweet teen romance. But left alone, she also becomes easily bored. She begins looking around but aside from them, she doesn’t have much friends, not really a social butterfly, after everything. And then she spots Shiro who is guarding the gym’s doors. Immediately, she gets on her feet and hurries to him.

 

“Hey, Shiro!” Pidge calls for his attention.

 

“Pidge...? What are you doing here? Where are your friends?”

 

“Oh you know, busy dancing with someone to really bad and cheesy love songs.”

 

Shiro lets out a small chuckle. “Oh, really? I feel bad for you.”

 

“Don’t be. I’m fine. How about you? What are you up to?”

 

“Oh you know, here to watch just in case anyone tries to sneak out. You know how kids are these days.”

 

“Oh really? I feel bad for you.”

 

This time they both laugh at how dumb their wordplay is. They talk a bit more, and Pidge tells Shiro about Lance and Keith as well as Hunk and Shay. Add these kids on the list of people to look after. ‘The sweet taste of revenge,’ Pidge says to herself. ‘Good times.’

 

But Pidge knew she couldn’t stay with Shiro for long. Once the upbeat songs return, she’d have no reason to be with him. And unfortunately for her, they come back way too soon. Hunk and the others retreat back to their seats, waiting for her so that they can hit it off again. Shiro glances at them and then at Pidge and she knows what it means. But hey, a girl’s gotta have guts to get a guy.

And she is one who does.

 

“How about you dance, too?” She says, her hands holding his, waiting for a chance to bring him with her.

 

“I can’t. I’m the school’s guard dog, remember?”

 

Alas, her request is denied. Shiro is busy working and couldn’t be bothered with. That much she understands. So she retreats and heads back, sad and dejected, when Shiro calls to her attention.

 

“Pidge...”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You’ll do great. You look stunning in that dress.”

 

“Th- Thanks...!”

 

And then she scurries off, back to her friends, to anywhere really, some place where Shiro wouldn’t see her, wouldn’t hear the loud beatings of her heart, wouldn’t notice the redness of her cheeks. It had been such a simple compliment. Shiro didn’t even mean anything deep about it. He probably thought she was afraid and too shy to dance or something. But it means so much.

 

Who knew a few words would bring her such joy?

 

* * *

 

_I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily_

 

When Pidge finishes looking at the crowd,

_  
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make_

 

her eyes interlock with Shiro’s.

_  
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use_

 

But he doesn’t know that.

_  
The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake_

 

The veil keeps her stares and glances a secret.

 

* * *

 

Shiro keeps a very important secret for Pidge.

 

He knows of her identity, of her past. And only a few couple of people in Altea Academy had knowledge of such. There’s him, the school principal Allura, the vice principal Coran, her homeroom teacher, maybe the head of discipline knew, but he isn’t so sure. The point is, it is a very well-kept secret, and even as the people around the school liked to gossip about it, about the kid who moved in the middle of the school year, Shiro is resolute to keep Pidge out of trouble.

 

But that is harder said than done.

 

After learning that Pidge had been an easy target for bullying, he makes sure the belligerents are properly punished. Detention and a little call to their parents does the trick. But Shiro still feels the need to take care of the kid. Sometimes, he’d walk with Pidge home. It isn’t a hassle, really. They are practically neighbors.

 

Except, everything went downhill when the rumors spread.

 

“Hey, hey! Did you hear? Mr. Shirogane has a thing for Pidge Gunderson.”

 

“Pidge Gunderson? The new kid?? No way.”

 

“But somebody swore they saw them walking home and enter the same apartment building.”

 

“You know Shiro’s too good a person for that.”

 

“Silly. You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

 

They reach far enough that they’d go to the ears of the faculty members. A whole lot of them start avoiding Shiro. The remaining few keep a constant watch of him. A couple of senior faculty has advised him to keep his distance from Pidge. But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. You never know when other kids would bully her again. It’d be bad if she’d get hurt, if they found out about her identity. Shiro is willing to take the brunt of the rumors if it meant he could protect her.

 

“Shiro, I know you’d like to look after Pidge, but you’ve heard the rumors.”

 

“Principal Allura, you know those are just baseless rumors. I’d only been--!”

 

“Hush now. Of course, I know. But these rumors aren’t going to help you or her. It might even get to the news of some authorities and the Holts’ cover could be blown. You know the risks.”

 

Allura is right. She’d always been right. Things are getting out of hand and Shiro has to do something for both Pidge and himself.

 

“I’ll think of something,” Shiro says before storming out of the Principal’s office, still frustrated with everything that has happened.

 

And he actually does think of something. The next day, he wears a ring to class, a ring that gave a message. ‘I’m engaged.’ And of course, rumors still spread but now they’ve changed, shifted, evolved.

 

“Hey! Did you see Mr. Shirogane’s engagement ring?”

 

“You don’t know if that’s an engagement ring!”

 

“Of course, it’s an engagement ring. Shiro doesn’t like wearing jewelry, even his watch isn’t all that much of a statement. He won’t wear a ring just for kicks.”

 

“Now, I feel bad for talking about that story about him and the new kid. It’s obviously a lie.”

 

Unbeknownst to the gossipers, the very person they are talking about trails behind them. Pidge has had enough of these rumors. First, they say she’s having an affair with Shiro, and then he’s getting married. The people in this school needed to go get lives. Pidge is pissed at everyone, and getting pissed at everyone included taking a seat on a table that isn’t her usual spot. It gives her a sense of superiority and of a little taste of revenge, no matter how small the damage she’d done.

 

“Hey! You’re the new kid, right? That’s our spot. ”

 

Ah, seems like the victims has come at the right time.

 

“Well, I don’t see your name on it.”

 

“Did you just sass me, Lance, the sass master in all of Altea Academy?! Look at this kid, Hunk!” The tall, lean boy, begin shouting, pointing fingers at her.

 

But Pidge is in a terrible mood and when she is in terrible mood, she becomes an equally terrible person.

 

“Looking at you, I’m not really sure who the kid between us is.”

 

Lance gasps and Hunk tries not to choke on their sandwich. Pidge is wrecking them, wrecking them bad. But Pidge also knows what is coming after. She is used to it. Lance lifts his hands and Pidge closes her eyes, readying herself for a quick blow that never comes.

 

Instead, Lance holds her hand, eyes sparkling, mouth smiling, almost reaching to the ears. Pidge hadn’t seen someone smile at her like that, smile at her at all.

 

“Let’s be friends!”

 

Let alone ask to be friends with her. What is this boy thinking? Did he think Pidge is going to be his lackey like the guy with him or something?

 

“I’m sorry. He isn’t usually this rowdy,” The other boy with Lance pulls him away from Pidge.

 

Okay. Pidge is mistaken. He isn’t Lance’s lackey. Only friends would put each other down like that.

 

“I’m Hunk.” He then holds out his hand for a handshake.

 

“I’m...” Pidge hesitates for a moment. But she couldn’t deny the fact that she does want friends. And Hunk and Lance seem nice enough.

 

Her hand reaches out to Hunk and then to Lance.

 

“I’m Pidge.”

 

* * *

 

_And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend_

 

Pidge is now closer to Shiro,

 

_For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn_

_  
_ just a few feet away from him.

 

_We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in_

 

The bridegroom has never felt so connected to each other,

 

_I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am_

 

has never felt so loved.

 

* * *

 

She’d been a sophomore when they moved to Altea City. The City Hospital is known for top-notch medical care. Both her father and brother are confined there. They have found the need to leave their home as the media began flocking outside their doors, asking for interviews and such, after catching wind of a case and an apparent death threat sent to the Holts. Altea City is far safer. They have well-implemented ordinances that protect people against sneaky reports or worse things and they could go by with aliases here so no one would know who they are.

 

The Holts had went by as the Gundersons. Patricia Gunderson and her son Pidge. Those are the names they used. The school Pidge is going to had agreed to keep her identity a secret. It is also very much reassuring for Mrs. Holt since she knows someone inside, Takashi Shirogane, a teacher who was once Sam’s an apprentice. He’s been a guest to their house many times and had even tutored the Holt siblings when Sam was busy.

 

Mrs. Holt has told Pidge repeatedly to her to ask Shiro for help, just in case. But she makes up her mind and decides to take things into her own hands. Pidge doesn’t want to bother her mother, all the more, Shiro.

 

And still, here she is, her mom practically shouting her lungs out at the parents’ of the other teens who bullied her.

 

To be honest, she is thankful that Shiro has reported the concurring incidents to the Head of Discipline but it also pains her to see her mother that way. She’s been handling everything ever since the accident, she’s been working hard and coming home late and Pidge doesn’t want to bother her, doesn’t want to be the kid who has to rely on their mom who’s busy enough as it is.

 

As for Shiro, they never had the chance to talk after that. He is teaching in the junior and senior levels so they never really interact that much. Add up the fact that they hadn’t talked to each other for like three years.

 

It had been a chilly Friday morning when they actually do talk to each. He is on his way back from the local bakery when he sees Pidge come out of the convenience store. They have walked into each other and inevitably had to walk back to the apartment complex together.

 

Shiro is slightly concerned about Pidge. She is holding a bag full of instant noodles. And Shiro had been a College student, he experienced the difficult days where only these were eaten because literally, there was no time to eat. But Pidge is fifteen, for God’s sake. She is supposed to have a good diet, not this.

 

Still it wasn’t his place to say anything so he simply keeps his mouth shut and resorts to small talk.

 

The second time, they are much more talkative. It had been the Tuesday following their impromptu walk back to the complex. Shiro is out to stock up on bread again when Pidge calls out to him.

 

“Shi-! Shiro!”

 

“Oh, good morning, Pidge!”

 

“Are you on your way to the bakery today?”

 

“I am.”

 

“Ca- Can I tag along?”

 

“Of course, you can.”

 

“Thanks. I’m still pretty bad at navigating around the city. The only place I know is the convenience store a few blocks away.”

 

“Don’t sweat it.”

 

They walk together in silence, but all the same, the spaces between them slowly diminish.

 

* * *

__  
  
I won't give up on us

 

Matt and Pidge reach the altar.

 

 _Even if the skies get rough_  
  


And he lets go of Pidge to give Shiro a hug.

 

 _I'm giving you all my love_  
  


“Take care of her.” He whispers.

 

_I'm still looking up, I'm still looking up_

 

“I will.” He replies, just as softly.

  
_Well, I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)_

_God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)_

 

Shiro then takes Pidge by the hand.

 

 _We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)_  
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)  
  


And they walk up the altar’s stairs together.  


_I won't give up on us_  
Even if the skies get rough  
I'm giving you all my love  
I'm still looking up

 

The ceremony begins. They exchange rings and exchange vows.

 

They promise to love, to cherish, to care for each other, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.

 

Thick as thieves, a bond is formed from this day forward and beyond death.

 

**_Let's make a pinky promise to stand by each other._ **

 

**_If I break my promise, I must swallow a thousand needles._ **

 

**_Pinky sworn!_ **

 

**_Sealed with a kiss!_ **

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed writing this fic especially the part where Pidge was having trouble deciding her future.


End file.
